Damn Necromancer - Chapter 3

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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The Spendthrift Necromancer (3)
Awakening
Geomhaegak Seo Jin-chul.
He knew Kim Min-woo well. His granddaughter had mentioned him a few times.
―A cowardly, pathetic bastard! Why does he have such a twisted gaze? I almost gouged his eyes out, I did! If it weren’t for the Ilseong Group, I’d have broken one of his legs!
Public opinion aligned with that assessment. Born lazy, crude in word and deed.
The only reason he hadn’t caused any major trouble was not because of deep patience, but because he was a coward through and through.
Nearly everyone in the world had said exactly that.
‘This is that bastard?’
Geomhaegak tilted his head.
His aura was not something an ordinary person could withstand.
A normal human would have lost control entirely—tears streaming, bowels loosening—without it being strange.
Yet Kim Min-woo showed no sign of flinching.
As if he were a veteran of countless battles.
Geomhaegak examined Kim Min-woo’s body.
A body with no trace of Mana. He was undoubtedly an ordinary person.
‘A cowardly wretch, then.’
A hundred words didn’t matter.
What mattered was the reality before his eyes.
Geomhaegak acknowledged it.
Kim Min-woo was someone worth using, in his way.
“You have good eyes.”
“My sword will be better.”
A smile crossed Geomhaegak’s lips.
Quite interesting indeed.
“A hundred billion won is serious money.”
“Which is why you spend it now.”
“Have you ever swung a sword before?”
“A few times.”
“To the Yeonmujang, then.”
Geomhaegak led the way forward.
Kim Min-woo followed in his wake.
The place where his first disciples trained.
The disciples’ eyes lit up the moment Geomhaegak appeared.
Geomhaegak moved to the center of the Yeonmujang and lifted a wooden sword.
In that moment, the ferocious aura vanished as if washed away. To the untrained eye, he looked exactly like an ordinary person.
“A duel should be fair to have meaning. I’ve adjusted my body to match your level. Pick up the sword.”
“I’ll learn something from this.”
Kim Min-woo grasped the wooden sword.
He saw Geomhaegak’s expressionless gaze fixed upon him.
He knew Geomhaegak well.
He was one of the essential characters he interacted with during gameplay.
Geomhaegak Seo Jin-chul, who created the Wind Sword Technique and rose to become Korea’s greatest Awakened.
But the Realm of his sword was currently locked in a bottleneck.
At that level, a mere Realm wouldn’t advance with just consuming some elixir.
This was the period when pure enlightenment became necessary as well.
‘He’ll stay stuck for another five years at least.’
Then, by creating a new sword technique that would compensate for existing weaknesses, he would advance to the next Realm.
‘The Thunder Wind Sword Technique.’
A sword technique that blended lightning speed and force into the gentleness of wind.
‘I learned it directly.’
Of course, not as the warped version of Kim Min-woo.
Se Ye-rim.
A four-star difficulty character and granddaughter of Geomhaegak Seo Jin-chul.
Using that connection, he’d received the Thunder Wind Sword Technique from her.
He truly deserved to be called Geomhaegak.
He had never beaten him—not even once.
‘But now it’s different.’
This is much further back in time.
Geomhaegak had not yet become the complete swordmaster of that later era.
‘Targeting the weakness of the Wind Sword Technique.’
Before creating the Thunder Wind Sword Technique, there were still gaps he hadn’t fully addressed.
What if he drove into those gaps with the Thunder Wind Sword Technique, a far superior sword method?
It would create enough variables to turn the tide.
‘A short engagement—it’s worth attempting.’
An ordinary person struggles to sustain even three minutes of sparring.
Kim Min-woo’s body was no different. His mind may have changed, but the flesh has its limits; prolonged combat would be impossible.
‘Seven minutes.’
No matter how sharp his spirit, he wouldn’t last more than seven minutes in continuous combat.
In that window, he had to achieve something meaningful.
‘No greed. Just three clean strikes.’
Three hits with the wooden sword on Geomhaegak’s body.
‘Still, there’s no opening.’
Even without using Mana.
Even if his body was ordinary.
Geomhaegak was Geomhaegak.
The stance with which he’d raised the wooden sword held not a trace of wasted motion.
A posture capable of perfect defense from face to abdomen.
Seeing it, Kim Min-woo’s eyes kindled with competitive fire.
The same was true for Geomhaegak.
‘Is this really just a beginner who’s swung a sword a few times?’
He was seized by astonishment.
Kim Min-woo.
The stance of someone he’d written off as a mere upstart was far too refined.
Even each circling step held meaning—subtly exposing gaps, or tensing his toes as though ready to pounce at any moment.
It defied belief. Yet there was no denying it.
Kim Min-woo’s body simply could not have trained in the sword.
Hands unmarred by callus.
And his muscle mass was altogether inadequate. To look at him was to see someone who’d never touched a blade at all—a true novice. Impossibly, this same novice was now engaging in perfect form with him.
Truly, one lives long to see such things.
Tension mounting without a single clash.
Then it came.
Kim Min-woo drew a long breath. This was a duel between masters.
The one who moved first would be swiftly read.
Yet they couldn’t simply circle each other forever.
‘I have no choice but to yield one move.’
He thrust first.
“Where do you think you’re going!”
Sensing his intent, Geomhaegak came thundering down in fury.
He was Geomhaegak.
He’d not lived long enough to yield to some stripling!
His sword flowed smoothly, seeking the opening.
Crack!
The two wooden swords collided with force.
Geomhaegak’s wooden sword drove smoothly toward Kim Min-woo.
Gentle as a breeze.
At times fierce as a gale.
The Wind Sword Technique.
An endless chain of linked strikes, relentless in its assault, leaving not a breath of opening—a terrifying swordplay.
Kim Min-woo retreated steadily, parrying and slipping with precarious grace as though performing acrobatics.
Geomhaegak’s barrage pressed on without pause.
Kim Min-woo found himself driven swiftly onto the defensive.
Yet his eyes burned with a keenness beyond anything before.
‘Head, shoulder, waist, neck, shoulder, arm……’
Tracing the path of the Wind Sword Technique even as he blocked, he suddenly withdrew his wooden sword with a sharp snap.
“……!”
Geomhaegak twisted his shoulder swiftly to evade.
Yet Kim Min-woo’s offense did not end there.
His sword slithered upward like a serpent, driving deep into Geomhaegak’s armpit.
Thump!
In a flash.
The attack came not from Kim Min-woo’s blade alone. Seo Jin-chul’s wooden sword struck sharply at his shoulder with the precision of one who was far from inexperienced.
In that moment…….
[Awakening has begun!]
[Achievement is blossoming!]
The achievement began to bloom.
Both men stepped back two paces simultaneously.
Seo Jin-chul’s face had gone rigid.
That last blow Kim Min-woo had driven in with such precision.
It had pierced exactly where the Wind Sword Technique was vulnerable.
A weakness even he had not yet recognized.
“……How did you discover it?”
“Hah. Just—it felt like that would work in that moment.”
Kim Min-woo spoke with a strained laugh, his breathing still ragged.
“……You. Have you truly never studied the sword before?”
“I haven’t.”
Kim Min-woo, twenty-three years old.
He had never learned the sword.
It was an undeniable truth.
Seo Jin-chul, seeing the unwavering certainty in those eyes, nodded slowly.
“My apologies.”
“For what, sir?”
“I should have requested this duel first.”
“Then by all means, give it everything you have. Until one of us falls.”
“Very well.”
Seo Jin-chul accepted cleanly.
This young man, judged purely by swordsmanship alone, was a worthy opponent—one he could call his equal.
No, given that this boy had spotted a flaw in mere moments that he himself had never found in years…….
One might say the boy was the stronger of the two.
Seo Jin-chul’s eyes grew utterly serious.
* * *
Waaah!
At the faint roar that echoed through the halls, Se Ye-rim, who had been sitting cross-legged with her eyes closed, opened them.
Geomhaegak seemed unusually loud today.
‘What’s going on? I don’t recall any special schedule…….’
The only unusual thing she could remember was some troublemaker visiting Geomhaegak.
Curious, she stepped out of the training room.
Several instructors were moving about busily.
“Is something happening?”
“Seo Jin-chul is in the middle of a duel.”
“Grandfather? With whom?”
Se Ye-rim’s eyes lit up.
Seo Jin-chul.
The greatest and most radiant swordsman in all the world.
A single duel from him naturally carried that weight.
She was deeply curious about who her grandfather—whom she revered above all—had chosen as his opponent.
Naturally, that opponent must be someone extraordinary.
Several names flickered through Se Ye-rim’s mind.
Shin Chang, Kwon Wang, Dok Ma…….
All of them elite awakeners ranked in the top ten of Korea.
Someone like that would be worthy of grandfather’s direct attention.
Then…….
An instructor, scratching his head, spoke.
“Well, it’s…… that Kim Min-woo.”
“……What?”
Kim Min-woo? Could he be referring to that Kim Min-woo?
No, surely not…….
“That Kim Min-woo who was supposed to visit today.”
But the instructor’s next words shattered her expectations entirely.
Se Ye-rim was stunned.
She despised Kim Min-woo.
The memory of his serpent’s gaze, openly sliding across her body, remained vivid as ever.
Pathetic. Contemptible.
That creep was sparring with Grandfather?
Something his own granddaughter had never done?
“Grandfather, why on earth are you sparring with that pervert? You’re not misunderstanding something, are you?”
“It appears… he’s wagering a hundred billion won on a single match.”
“A hundred billion?”
“Yes. He said he’ll donate it all to Geomhaegak, win or lose.”
“Is he insane? A hundred billion…”
Now Se Ye-rim understood why her grandfather had moved personally.
A hundred billion was no small sum, even for someone like Seo Jin-chul.
That money could overhaul Geomhaegak’s training facilities to the latest standards. A considerable amount, just to teach one reckless fool a lesson.
So that was it.
Of course Grandfather would move himself for that worthless dog.
The man was a corpse without his money.
It always came down to money.
“I should go watch. Master, would you like to come along?”
Her mood had lifted sharply. She smiled sweetly as she spoke.
She could watch the ruffian get beaten senseless, and take the opportunity to replace some of the aging interior facilities.
A perfect two birds with one stone.
So she made her way toward the sparring ground with the instructor.
“This can’t be real…”
Ye-rim gasped.
Had someone cast a hypnotic spell?
Otherwise she couldn’t make sense of what she was witnessing.
It was definitely Kim Min-woo.
And yet that Kim Min-woo was exchanging fierce blows with Seo Jin-chul.
Merely blocking the storm of strikes pouring down was extraordinary enough.
Crack!
“He landed another hit?”
“Two now. Seo Jin-chul has been pierced twice already…”
“How is this…?”
Between her grandfather’s relentless attacks, Kim Min-woo thrust his blade with perfect timing, countering brilliantly.
‘What is this?’
Watching Kim Min-woo’s sword, Se Ye-rim felt a strange sense of weightlessness.
A duel unfolding through pure physical skill alone—without a shred of Mana.
It was an art form.
Then she understood why the cheers had never ceased.
To hold firm against the Wind Sword Technique without allowing a single clean strike was already formidable; yet he was launching counterattacks as well.
And he was doing it with swordwork that looked decidedly unconventional.
“Impressive!”
“Whew. So are you, sir!”
“Hah! You reckless pup!”
Two swordsmen roaming freely in the small world of Yeonmujang.
She’d never seen Grandfather enjoy himself quite like this.
A bitter taste filled her mouth.
Ye-rim bit her lip hard.
She’d devoted her entire life to the sword to earn her grandfather’s recognition. By the age of twenty-two, she’d already claimed a reputation.
Sword Phoenix, Se Ye-rim.
She had been proud.
Even if that pride was wavering now.
She’d been certain she would be the first swordmaster to earn Grandfather’s approval.
But at this rate, it seemed she was about to lose that.
And to that ruffian she despised—no, loathed—above all else.
Cold sweat trickled down her brow.
* * *
Two minutes.
Four minutes.
Five minutes.
The longer the sparring went on, the more Kim Min-woo found himself pressed into defense.
‘My stamina’s running out.’
No matter how much Seo Jin-chul constrained his own body, he remained fundamentally an S-rank Awakened.
His natural recovery could only be on an entirely different level.
Seo Jin-chul’s speed never faltered.
He showed no signs of tiring.
But Min-woo was different.
A wastrel who’d done nothing but idle for twenty-three years.
How much stamina could he possibly have?
Swordwork could only be executed if the body had strength to move.
An ordinary person would be gasping and collapsing after just three minutes of sparring.
And this wasn’t ordinary sparring—it was a match with Seo Jin-chul.
A phenomenal battle of technique and will.
Within six minutes, vertigo was crawling up his skull as if his brain were burning away.
His entire body trembled.
He was holding on through sheer superhuman mental strength, but even that was reaching its limit.
Then it happened.
Seo Jin-chul, who had been wielding his sword in a state of complete absorption, suddenly became aware again.
‘Damn.’
Seo Jin-chul felt a flash of frustration.
That wall that had been blocking him.
He could almost see it now!
They’d been sparring far too long.
If anything, it was strange that Kim Min-woo had lasted this long at all.
‘Extraordinary mental fortitude.’
The surprise faded quickly.
A warmth bloomed in Seo Jin-chul’s chest, much like watching a grandson come of age.
“I’ve been too caught up in my own thoughts. I’m sorry.”
“……Huff. You didn’t forget the promise from before, did you?”
His Achievement wasn’t high enough yet.
He needed to trade more blows.
If he stopped now, he’d get nothing from it!
Please, keep going!
Kim Min-woo phrased it more elegantly than that.
“……Right. We said until one of us went down.”
Seo Jin-chul nodded in acknowledgment.
The outcome seemed all but decided.
Yet even as he swayed as though he might collapse at any moment, Kim Min-woo refused to submit.
His eyes still burned with fighting spirit.
Resilience like a steel wire.
An unbending will.
Even a hunger for victory!
This young man was already a swordsman fully formed.
“Yes. We’ll see who blinks first.”
“That’s the only way to know.”
A thin smile crossed both their faces.
Their eyes met with something almost like understanding.
“Here—take this as well.”
Seo Jin-chul lunged forward and thrust his wooden sword in a triple combination.
Head, shoulder, torso.
Three strikes flowing seamlessly into one another.
‘Don’t block.’
If this landed clean, he’d go down for certain.
Instead of defending, Kim Min-woo threw caution to the wind and launched his own attack to match.
His wooden sword threaded through the gaps in the triple combination and struck Seo Jin-chul’s chest.
Crack!
Crack-crack!
Three clean hits in succession.
Against Seo Jin-chul, he’d achieved his original aim.
When both their wooden swords came down to strike home at last.
Kim Min-woo collapsed to the ground with a heavy thud.
Flash!
A brilliant blue light erupted from his body.
It was unmistakably an Awakening.
And nearly the highest grade at that!
“An Awakening?”
“He’s Awakening!”
“What Achievement level produces light like that……!”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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